Reader Showcase: George Theodoridis

Name & Online Presence: George Theodoridis. No current online presence.

About the Photographs: Last year I re-engaged with photography after perhaps 20 years and with an area I had never really been interested prior – so called ‘street’. I wanted to explore something between ‘street’ and ‘environmental portraiture’ in the framing of these. The idea that motivated a series of which these are a part is suggested by the title “Together Alone”. I was moved by the notion of how, even when we are amongst others, we are in some fundamental way alone. On another day I have no doubt I would have selected a different set from the whole. Taken in western Europe and Morocco at the beginning of the year.

About the Photographer: I live in Melbourne, Australia, and earn my living managing the business side of an Architecture firm. Photography was my first true love, and she and I have found each-other again. When we are not making love like teenagers we sit quietly remembering and thinking of what might have been had we stayed together 🙂

Equipment Used: These were taken with a Fuji xt-1 and standard zoom lens.

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Comments

I find two striking attributes of these photos which make them far superior to typical “street” photos. The first attribute is the strong compositions that George has chosen to exhibit. The second attribute is the sense of place and context that his photos provide. Most so-called “street” photographers seem content to just snap at people on the street and settle for nearly lifeless portraits perhaps addressing the “who” but providing little or no hints of “what”, “where”, “when”, “why” and “how” and even less attention to how the elements of the photo are distributed in the frame to tell a robust story through form as well as subject. George’s photos, on the other hand, display a discriminating sense of how the relative positions and proportions of elements and shapes can be used, and he clearly succeeds to show us more than simple clandestinely captured portraits.

This is very noticeable in the first photo where the large square painting has been placed to the upper left of the square frame. The squares echo one-another in a very dynamic way, and this echo provides both context and compositional strength to the young couple making a selfie. It’s hard to imagine another view/composition of this event which would be anywhere nearly as engaging as this one is.

The photo of the man at the railing is striking for an additional reason. It is surely a very rare and remarkable opportunity, as anyone who engages in this kind of photography will know. The man, his dress, his (presumably un-posed) pose, the geometry of the railing lending depth and the relatively featureless background with the near lamp post backstopping the receding composition at the left side. This is a magical opportunity which surely only lasted a moment, and to recognize, frame and expose it so well is certainly a triumph of attention, concentration and expertise. I can imagine that, had George hesitated or fiddled with his equipment, he would have drawn the man’s attention, the moment would have evaporated, and the photo would never have been made.

The final photo of the woman in the market is instructive, too. By including the butcher shop in the photo, George found a much more interesting photo in which the shop and the woman together show us a moment and a place that informs us about the situation far more than either could alone.

I enjoyed very much looking at and thinking about these strong, interesting photos. I’ve also been intrigued by the fact that the photos are all nearly square, despite being made with a 3:2 sensor. In my experience, compositions in squares necessitate a different perceptual response from the photographer than is appropriate for compositions in rectangles, and to see those square compositions while looking via a rectangle is no mean feat.

Thank you so much for the thoughtful and appreciative response, Mike.
Tom has set the tone for thoughtful, intelligent and civilised participation on this site, and I hope it continues to draw readers and commentators of such disposition.
I shall confess something though:
I wanted to try shooting square, and you are right, it has a very different feel /compositional sensibility. The xt-1 actually allows a 1:1 framing in the viewfinder and the lcd. It’s a setting. And its as close to a ‘blad as I’m ever going to get I think. A pity my replacement A7ii won’t allow it, though my diminutive rx100, perplexingly, does.

I think the 1:1 works very nicely for these images and you’ve clearly used it to good effect. Many people just cannot work with this format, although I am sure Instagram has helped keep it alive after the decline of medium format film. I enjoyed make a selection and have made the gallery image the featured images because it hit me hardest and quickest; however, my favourite may surprise others. Its the second image, which I would describe a slow burner. I love the space and simplicity. The resultant question, stemming from the fact that the photograph does not tell us everything about what we are looking at, is what keeps it alive no matter how many times you look at it. Colours are muted, shadows left where they should be, highlights spot on and it just works. I could see this image as part of a very simple seaside series – perhaps only eight frames – using similar space, silence, natural tones and sense of inactivity following activity.

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The Author

Award-winning photographer, ex-soldier and father of two, Thomas Stanworth has spent over a decade working and photographing in trouble spots from Sierra Leone to Afghanistan. His work has been exhibited in the US, UK, Europe and Asia. Read More…

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